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The voice

McIntyre finds calling in public address announcing for Fort Dodge athletics

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson Brad McIntyre, of Fort Dodge, looks over a supporting actor award he won for his role as Alvin in a play titled "A Barrel Full of Pennies." The play took place in 2007 through his involvement with Hawkeye Community Theatre.

Some people may not recognize assistant Webster County Attorney Brad McIntyre if they saw him walking down the street in Fort Dodge.

But they might recognize his voice.

McIntyre, a 2007 Fort Dodge Senior High graduate, spends his free time as a public address announcer for many of the major sports in the Fort Dodge Community School District.

McIntyre started announcing Dodger swim meets in the fall of 2015, he said.

He got a little help landing the gig from his wife, Kaitlyn McIntyre, also a 2007 FDSH graduate.

-Messenger photo by Chad Thompson A collection of awards earned by Brad McIntyre throughout his time performing in the Hawkeye Community Theatre are shown here.

“My wife is a middle school teacher, and she heard an administrator saying they needed someone for PA announcing,” McIntyre said. “She volunteered my name for that and that’s how I got started.”

It also didn’t hurt that McIntyre earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science from Drake University in 2010.

Later, McIntyre took over the microphone at Dodger football, baseball and soccer games.

McIntyre said he enjoys the atmosphere of the events the most.

“With football on Friday nights, it’s almost like a community event for how many people there are,” McIntrye said. “The big crowd and the atmosphere is great to be a part of.”

McIntyre is no stranger to press boxes.

His father, Bill McIntyre, worked in the sports department at The Messenger for 25 years. Bill McIntyre served as sports editor from 1993-2000.

As a child, Brad McIntyre said he spent a lot of his time in the summer following his father around Iowa as he covered area sports.

“Wanting to be involved in sports comes back to my dad,” Brad McIntyre said. “I always looked up to him. I loved following him around. I was interested in his job and that led me down the line to broadcasting.”

“To be able to get back into the press box where I grew up going around the state with my dad — to be able to get back into the press box is something I am proud of,” Brad McIntyre said.

Although he enjoys all sports, McIntyre said his favorite sport to announce is baseball.

“Baseball is probably my favorite sport to watch as a spectator,” Brad McIntyre said. “The baseball program here has done really well in recent times, so it’s enjoyable to watch them and the improvements they have made to the baseball program. It’s a great way to spend a summer evening.”

He said the pace of the game is what makes it special.

“It’s a slower paced game, so you can get a little more time to relax and enjoy the great summer weather,” Brad McIntyre said. “I just enjoy watching it and Coach (Blake) Utley has a great program out there, so it’s fun to watch.”

While announcing, he tries not butcher anyone’s name, though he admitted for some events, that can be a challenge.

“You try hard to get these kids’ names right because you know they have practiced hard to get there and the last thing you want to do is get the name wrong,” he said. “I think I get most of the Fort Dodge kids right, but some of the out of town teams are more difficult.”

He said swim meets, especially, have a lot of moving parts.

“I did a swim meet the other night and I got a sheet with six teams listed and heats of different events, and it’s name after name,” he said. “So while it is fun, you have to put some work into it as well.”

Also in his spare time, Brad McIntyre is involved in Hawkeye Community Theatre.

He has had a passion for drama since high school.

“I have always liked acting and performing, and it’s kind of also why I went to law school,” he said. “I like to argue and I like to talk.”

Brad McIntyre received his law degree from Drake University Law School in 2013. He joined the Webster County Attorney’s Office in December 2014.

Since he started acting in 2006, Brad McIntyre has played a host of different characters.

“I have played everything from a neurotic Broadway director in my last show to an intense lawyer in “A Few Good Men,'” Brad McIntyre said.

One of his memorable parts was playing the role of Alvin, a hippie, in the play “A Barrel Full of Pennies.”

“I was kind of the crazy guy to everyone else’s more normal roles,” he said.

Brad McIntyre won an award for supporting actor for that role in 2007.

He said the one thing he has learned from his acting experience is being able to improvise.

“I have just learned that you have to go with the flow,” he said. “You can’t try to be to rigid or do everything a certain way. You have to go with what’s happening around you and if you get too busy thinking how everything is supposed to go, it’s not going to go as well. The sooner I realized that, the better.”

His advice for students growing up is to find a path that is both rewarding, but also challenging.

“I think it’s important that you do something that you know you are going to enjoy, but at the same time, do something that challenges yourself,” Brad McIntyre said. “I started out in journalism and that’s something I enjoyed. I ended up going to law school and that challenged me. I think challenging yourself will make it better in the long run. I think it’s important to get something from both of those categories to make you a better person.”

Law school was difficult, but worth it, he said.

“It’s a tough experience,” he said. “You don’t have a lot of free time between reading and studying, and you also have to try and work. It was a hard thing to balance and it was the biggest challenge of my life, but I am happy now that I made it. There was no greater feeling than graduating and passing the bar (exam). After you graduate, you still have to pass the bar. The accomplishment and the relief is something to be proud of.”

Coming back to live and work in Fort Dodge has also been an important part of his life.

“My wife and I knew that it’s a community that’s on the rise and is progressive,” McIntyre said. “There is a lot of great things happening here. Coming back and establishing ourselves here and young professionals coming back to the community is something important to us, and we are proud to call Fort Dodge home.”

“It’s been 10 years since I graduated high school and a lot of things have changed for the better and to help be part of that is special,” Brad McIntyre added. “I think I can help make this community a better place and help create a better community for everybody here.”

Editor’s Note: Neighbors is a new weekly feature that will profile people in The Messenger readership area who have a story to tell. To submit a name for consideration in “Neighbors” email editor@messengernews.net and put “Neighbors” in the subject line.

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